


Another Path

by EternallyProfound



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Eventual Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-24 11:21:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20705153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyProfound/pseuds/EternallyProfound
Summary: In an alternate universe, Harry and Draco's encounter in the bathroom causes Draco to unload the emotions he'd been carrying inside. Life on the losing side seems pointless, and Draco wants out.Severus steps forward to shine a light on the road to freedom, but will Draco be able to deal with the consequences of taking the harder path?Eventual Draco/Harry (and background Ginny/Hermione, plus some other pairings sprinkled in for good measure), work in progress!





	Another Path

_ This is the way the war really begins and I’m stuck here literally bleeding to death in a fucking puddle. There is no happy ending for me, not on this godforsaken path anyway. _

The slapping of black shoes against water grew fainter with each passing second and the blurred image of  _ the-boy-who-lived  _ silently slipping from the flooding bathroom barely sparked a flicker of hatred in Draco’s heart. Pale skin covering thin, boney fingers rested in the cool, rippling liquid; which slowly became tainted with the pure blood flowing from Draco’s chest.

_ “Foolish boy…”  _ The angry mutter caused the corners of Draco’s mouth to curl up in an almost smile. A warm tingling feeling spread throughout the platinum-haired boy’s body as his mentor bowed over him, whispering an unfamiliar incantation that entranced him right up until the moment his vision went black.

* * *

  
  


“What were you thinking!? Have you any idea just how close to  _ dying  _ you actually came!? If  _ he  _ finds out we’d be as well jump into a fire and have done with it!” Snape paced furiously back and forth before the gently flickering fire, his long black robe billowing angrily behind him as he slowly wore down the emerald green runner beneath his polished shoes.

“ _ Yes actually,  _ I do know, thank you very much! Which is exactly why my new frame of mind is - TO HELL WITH  _ HIM! _ ” Draco hissed in response, narrowing his silver eyes as he launched himself to his feet. “I don’t want to die for something I’ve been  _ forced  _ to believe my whole damn life! There’s an entire  _ world  _ outside of the tiny chest I’ve been crammed into, and even I can see  _ we’re on the losing side. _ Merlin knows my father can’t pick the right path to save his life! He just cowers at the last possible moment like an utter imbecile!”

“Your father would expect me to punish you for that, but I can’t fault your line of thinking. How long have you been bottling this up?” Draco paused for a moment at Snape’s question, furrowing his brow at the gentle probing in his mind.

“Seems like you’re finding out for yourself, why bother saying it aloud.” He responded finally, flopping back onto the green velvet couch with a defeated sigh.

“Draco, you’ll need occlumency lessons if this is to continue. No doubt the Dark Lord is already aware of your wavering loyalty.”

“It’s not  _ wavering,  _ Severus, it’s non-existent  _ at best. _ ”

The study became silent for several long moments as Snape analyzed Draco’s tired form; from the bags beneath his eyes to the once-proud sagging shoulders and unkempt appearance, the usually arrogant pure-blood seemed utterly defeated. Adjusting his robes, Severus slowly made his way around the room quietly murmuring advanced wards, ensuring their complete privacy. When he finished he stowed his wand back in its holster and crossed the room to plop himself down in the high-backed arm-chair across from Draco. He crossed one leg over the other, one hand poised in the air with pinky and ring finger curled towards his palm while the other rested on one green velvet-covered arm-rest, palm up with his fingers relaxed. “I hadn’t expected this so soon if I’m perfectly honest with you Draco. I had a hunch your sense of self-preservation would turn out similar to mine but I also seem to have misjudged you, I assumed your arrogance would outway the, shall we say, cons of the Dark Lord’s cause. So tell me, Draco, are you trying to say you want  _ out? _ ”

“I never wanted in to begin with, Severus. I’m so tired of being unable to live up to father’s  _ extreme  _ expectations. Now I have  _ him  _ to contend with as well. Merlin, if only I’d died on that floor.” Draco leaned forward on his elbows and hung his head in his hands, his shoulders sagging impossibly further. Severus watched with a sorrow-filled expression, his mouth straightening out into a tight white line as he searched for the right words to say.

“Your mother had me take an unbreakable vow, you know. ‘Keep Draco safe, even if it costs you your life’ that was the vow I made. To keep you safe means to keep you alive. I’m not about to die just because you couldn’t deal with a little blood-loss.” He smirked as Draco’s head whipped up and the blonde-haired boy shot a smouldering glare in the dark-arts professor’s direction. “ You speak ill of your father for being unable to find the right path, yet you can’t see it either - even when it stands before you.”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand…” Draco’s brow furrowed further. His silver eyes searched from the truth within Snape’s expression but he found no answer, only amusement flickering in his dark eyes.

“Draco, you know I play both sides, don’t you? Which do you think I’m  _ really  _ loyal to?” 

Draco’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open, his mind reeling from the new perspective. While he  _ did  _ know that fact about Snape, as did most people, it had  _ never  _ occurred to the blonde-haired boy that his greasy-haired Death Eater professor  _ actually  _ belonged to the ‘light’. “But you seem so… Authentic… Though, I suppose you  _ are  _ far less crazy than the more… devout followers.”

“I suppose good acting goes a long way, as well as a keen desire to survive. Look, Draco, you don’t have to walk this path along-side your father. I know you won’t consider leaving without Narcissa, that’s why I’m prepared to negotiate with Dumbledore alongside you. You flipping sides would throw the balance and put a stop to the Dark Lord’s latest scheme, I have no doubt Dumbledore would be more than happy to safely extract your mother to a guarded location in exchange for the valuable time that would give the Order.” The cogs in Draco’s mind turned faster and faster as the new information began to sink in.  _ They already know about our plan, of course. No doubt Severus lets slip far more information than the Dark Lord would be happy with. _

“I-I… I don’t know, Severus… Let me think about this overnight at least, it’s not exactly a small decision to make.”

* * *

  
  


Draco threw himself onto his plush, four-poster bed and slipped a small silver ring from the drawer in his bedside cabinet. He turned the polished band over in his fingers several times before placing it on his middle finger. Malfoy concentrated for several seconds until the cool metal began to heat up and tingle against his finger. When Draco removed the silver band he peered at the message scrawled on the inner circle.

_ Switch sides? _

The trinket didn’t allow Draco to send long messages to his mother, but he knew the composed woman would understand his message. It was something they had discussed at length on several occasions during his father’s absences, up until other Death Eater’s began hiding away in their once beautiful mansion.

The blonde-haired boy pressed his pale lips to the polished surface before once again stowing the ring in its hiding place, applying a sticking charm to the drawer afterwards for good measure. He knew it would likely be some time before a response appeared and his body still felt the after-effects of being mortally wounded; causing tiredness to encroach quickly. He extinguished the light in the room after glancing at his sleeping housemates and cocooned himself in the soft covers before falling asleep with thoughts of a better future lingering in his mind.


End file.
